1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a vise assembly, and more particularly to an improved vise assembly for a cutting machine and fabrication method thereof which makes it possible to decrease the number of work strokes by modifying a structure of the vise assembly, a fabrication method thereof, and material applied thereto, for thereby decreasing production cost.
2. Description of the Related Art
In general, a cutting machine is used to cut an object material by spinning a cutter blade at a high speed, and includes as a peripheral apparatus a clamping devise which clamps the object material and prevents it from swaying during the cutting operation.
A vise assembly denotes a clamping apparatus applicable to a cutting machine, and is provided with a vise mount and a lock handle.
In particular, the vise mount is fabricated so as not to be movable because of the resilience of the object material during a horizontal movement of a feed screw rod, and the vise lock handle for fixing the feed screw rod is also prevented from deformation or otherwise tending breakdown.
This is because the precision of the cutting machine is affected by a how precisely an object material is positioned. As a result, the structure and fabrication method of the vise mount and a vise lock handle still suffers from significant technical problems which have yet to be solved.
FIG. 1 is a front view of a conventional cutting machine. On a base 1 a perpendicular support angle 3 is provided for positioning an object material 2 in an appropriate placement. A vise assembly 4 is mounted opposite the perpendicular support angle 3 on an upper surface of the base 1.
A feed screw rod 5 threaded along its outer periphery is provided threadedly received in the vise assembly 4. At an end portion of the feed screw rod 5, i.e., between the support angle and the vise assembly 4, a clamp 6 is mounted for supporting the object material 2 from an opposite side of the support angle 3. A vise handle 7 is attached to another end of the feed screw rod 5.
FIG. 2 illustrates the structure of the vise assembly shown in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 illustrates the vise mount shown in FIG. 2, and FIG. 4 illustrates the vise lock handle shown in FIG. 2. As shown therein, the vise assembly 4 includes a vise mount 8 fixed onto the base 1 which guides the feed screw rod 5 and horizontal movement of the clamp 6, and a vise lock handle 12 connected by a pin 14 to the vise mount 8 which selectively fixes the feed screw rod 5.
The vise mount 8 is provided with a pin hole 9 in an upper portion thereof. In the middle thereof a insertion opening 10 is formed for receiving the vise lock handle 12 therein. A curved portion 11 is formed in a lower portion of the insertion opening 10 so that the feed screw rod 5 can be placed thereon.
The vise lock handle 12 is provided with a locking portion 13 having a female screw thread which is engaged with a male screw thread, i.e., to the thread of the feed screw rod 5, wherein a pin hole 9' is formed through a portion thereof.
The operational steps and disadvantages of the thusly constituted conventional cutting machine will now be described.
First, when the vise handle 7 is rotated counterclockwise, the feed screw rod 5 is guided by the vise assembly 4, so the clamp 6 moves away from the support angle 3.
When the object material 2 is placed between the support angle 3 and the clamp 6, the vise handle 7 is rotated clockwise, so the clamp 6 moves toward the support angle 3, so that the object material 2 is tightly fixed between the support angle 3 and the clamp 6.
After fixing the vise handle 7, the object material 2 is cut out using an applied power source.
When the cutting operation is completed, the vise handle 7 is rotated counterclockwise so the clamp 6 moves away from the object material 2. Therefore, the object material 2 between the support angle 3 and the clamp 6 can be taken out.
In order to take out the object material 2 without rotating the vise handle 7, the vise lock handle 12 of the vise assembly 4 is gripped and raised upwardly using the pin 14 as a rotation shaft. When the locking portion 13 is there by moved away from the thread of the feed screw rod 5, the vise handle 7 is gripped and the feed screw rod 5 moved axially without rotation to the right as seen in, for example, FIG. 1 so as for the clamp 6 to become spaced from the object material 2, thereby permitting easy removal of the object material 2.
With reference to the above-described operational steps, the vise mount 8 should not be movable because of the resilience of the object material 2, and the vise lock handle 12 should not be deformed or otherwise tend to breakdown.
However, the fabrication of vise lock handle 12 disadvantageously requires die casting, mold sintering, pin-hole forming, female screw forming and the like, thereby increasing work steps.
Further, the vise lock handle 12 formed of a molten foil increases the cost of parts thereof because of an unavoidable surface treatment which is used to prevent the vise lock handle 12 from corroding and becoming rusty.
Still further, the vise mount 8 is fabricated using mold sintering or die casting of a costly aluminum material, followed by forming the pin hole 9 and performing a surface treatment, thereby preventing corrosion and rust from occurring.
That is, because the vise mount 8 and the vise lock handle 12 are manually fabricated, their fabrication takes too much time thereby resulting in deteriorated productivity and price competitiveness.